The 34-Year Trial Period
by Araesson's Storm
Summary: AKA: That one time Loki was bored and decided living a human life might be fun. So when a child in the line of his vessels nearly dies in a werewolf attack, he took the opportunity to try it out and see what it was like. In a flash of golden light, Remus Lupin awoke a new person… rather a new Trickster/ Pagan God/ Archangel/ Wizard/ Werewolf… was he forgetting something?
1. Prologue: A Previously-Unreachable Level

**My Muses used Insane Plot Bunny. It was super effective!**

 **Yeah... that about sums this up. My muses and I have a complicated love-hate relationship that only gets more complicated as time goes on. As retaliation for not reaching my goal for word count on Nanowrimo they decided this is my punishment. I thought I should share, so here it is.**

 **I don't really have much clue what I'm doing with this story. I figure I'll just wing it, because I feel like Loki would approve. This chapter, or rather, prologue, is very short, however future chapters will have more length to them.**

 **I own nothing. I promise.**

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 **Prologue: A Previously-Unreachable Level of Chaotic Badassery**

Sometimes, being a Trickster who was also a Pagan God and liked to forget about the archangel part wasn't as fun as it had first seemed on the advertisement. There were times, such as now, where Loki felt that killing jerks, playing pranks, and spreading mayhem seemed to lose it's appeal. Even candy's flavor seemed dulled on his tongue. Having too much of something never failed to decrease the value of it, he had realized throughout the stretch of years that was his existence, even when it was the spread of chaos.

He needed a change. So he began to think of new things he could try that would keep his life entertaining (because boredom was one of his biggest enemies, mostly because he couldn't smite it and call it a day).

Out of nowhere, an idea came to his vast mind. The one thing he had never tried… was living a normal human life (rather, as normal as it could get when you were an archangel in witness protection). Sure, it would last no longer than a blink of an eye from his perspective, but it would be an experiment that could keep him entertained until the apocalypse finally came and ruined all of his fun.

Luck was on it's side, because almost as soon as he began looking into it, a way in which his idea could become reality presented itself. A small child of four in a more obscure part of the line of his vessels was attacked by a werewolf. The poor boy wouldn't survive the night… had Loki not had this idea of his.

Not stopping to think it over, he took decisive action. Golden light blasted from the small child, his now-glowing golden eyes flying open as Remus Lupin awoke a new person… or rather, a new Trickster/ Pagan God/ Archangel/ Wizard/ Werewolf… was he forgetting something?

Oh, right. A previously-unreachable level of chaotic badassery.

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 **I hope you enjoyed my moment of insanity. I'm not sure how often it will be updated yet, as Not A Dream is my priority.**

 **Also, I'd love to hear feedback and ideas (because I am serious {Sirius hahaha} about the winging it part).**

 **Thank you, and goodnight!**

 ***curtains close***


	2. 1: The Human Experience Deluxe Edition

**And I am back with chapter 1! Yay! I didn't make you wait too long, did I?**

 **I own nothing, so now you are free to enjoy the chapter!**

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 **Chapter 1: The Human Experience ™ Deluxe Edition**

"Remus, baby? Are you awake?" fretted a woman's voice as his eyes fought to open. It was a shame to wake up, he loved sleeping and dreaming. It was refreshing and entirely human, so of course he had had to go to sleep when he was waiting for the body to heal. Humans slept when healing, so he would too.

Loki took a wild guess at who the woman was as he squinted against the bright light, "Mom?"

He was taken aback by how high-pitched his voice was. Yes, he had known he had taken a child vessel, but he hadn't exactly thought about the fact that his voice would be that of a child. It was weird.

"Oh, Remus, I was so worried I would lose you! Are you feeling okay, baby? Does anything hurt?" his mother asked, pulling him into her arms. Her eyes were red from crying.

"I'm fine." Loki said, wiggling in her tight hold with a grimace. "Really, I feel great."

"Are you sure?" his mother seemed doubtful, "You were badly hurt."

"Uh-huh." he replied in his squeaky child's voice, "Do you have any food?"

Hey, humans had to eat regularly. Three times a day. He'd done his homework.

"I'll go see if one of the healers can get you something, sweetheart." his mother said kindly, thankfully letting him go so he could breathe. Not that he really needed to, but again, all part of the human experience. His mother left the room, leaving him to examine it.

It was mostly white, with few decorations. What was there was cheery, obviously to make a child feel more at home. It looked like a hospital of some sort, probably was, since he'd been attacked by a werewolf. Poor guy probably had no clue that he had nearly killed a little kid. Unless he was one of those jerks who purposefully targeted people, but those were few and far between.

His mother returned with a tray of food and a man, probably his father. What was odd was that they tip-toed around him, almost like they were afraid of upsetting him. Maybe they were worried he would be upset by being attacked by a werewolf? Wait, should he be acting more traumatized?! Children would be traumatized by a werewolf, probably. Maybe he could pretend his memory of being attacked was fuzzy? That happened in movies all the time.

"Remus… do you remember what happened?" the man asked gently, sitting in the chair by the hospital bed.

Loki frowned, looking like he was thinking, "I think I got hurt, but I don't really remember how. It's all fuzzy."

His parents exchanged a look, before his mother told him with the same gentleness, "Remus, baby… you were attacked by a werewolf."

His frown deepened, appearing to be thinking deeply. "I… I was? I think…"

Then, his eyes widened as he sharply drew in a breath. He went still for several moments, before he was suddenly smothering in the embraces of his parents.

"Oh, Remus, it's okay, I've got you. Nothing's going to hurt you." his mother crooned into his ear, rubbing soothing circles into his back. He let a few fake tears escape, deciding not to overdo it. He didn't want to be suffocated, after all. Surprisingly, being in the embrace of his parents felt nice.

"Son… there's something else…" the man in the room said uncertainly, both parents leaning back from the hug.

"Shouldn't we wait-" his mother asked.

"It'll be easier to tell him now." his father replied firmly, before turning to Remus, "Well, Remus, since you were attacked by the werewolf… now you'll be a werewolf, too. We're going to try finding a cure, so I don't want you to worry too much about it."

 _Shit. Right._

"We'll find a way to fix this, baby." his mother said softly, "Okay? There has to be a way. Then everything will go back to normal."

Loki grimaced. The normal human experience did not include lycanthropy. However, there wasn't exactly much he could do about his new condition. He'd probably just have to make the most of it.

"So… I'm a werewolf." he said slowly, trying to think of an appropriate reaction, "I don't feel like a werewolf."

"It's still new. But you won't have to get used to it. We'll do whatever we have to do to fix you." his mother replied.

Loki frowned, something sounding… wrong about that. 'We'll fix you'... like he was an object to be repaired, or something. A nuisance. He was pretty sure lycanthropy was permanent still, as there was no effective cure. The best one could hope for was pain medication to lessen the pain of each transformation. That was a major part of it he was not looking forward too, but pain was normal, so he'd feel it. He'd signed up for the bad and the good.

 _I'm just getting the_ _Human Experience™ Deluxe Edition. That's all. It's not like I'm cut out for a cookie-cutter human life, anyway._

He cracked a smile at the thought, before forcing his face to go blank. This was not a situation in which he needed to smile.

Well… probably not.

"Okay, mom." Loki replied, before letting out a yawn, "So… this werewolf stuff is making me tired. I'm going to take a nap."

With that, he threw himself down onto the pillows. His mother pulled the blanket up to his chin to help keep him warm, before both parents left.

He closed his eyes, taking in the sounds of the room. There was a sort of humming in the air… magic, he thought. Not Trickster magic, but that magic used by those…

Natural born wizards. Great. Weren't they the only society that knew about werewolves anyway? Why hadn't he realized this before?!

He groaned into his pillow. Now that he looked for it, his vessel was filled with natural-magic. Well, at least it wasn't dark-magic. Natural-magic would mesh better with his Trickster-magic (not to mention his grace, which would have not have played nice with dark-magic).

 _Well, if I have natural-magic… maybe I'll go there. It still exists, I think. Actually, I haven't really checked up on it recently. I should really do that. It'd be good to see Harold._

With that pleasant thought in mind, he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of candy and mayhem.

* * *

 **He seems to be having trouble with the whole acting like a human child thing. He's never really tried being a human child, so I figured he'd have some trouble with it.**

 **Thoughts? Thank you for reading!**


	3. 2: Someone Actually Trusts Loki

**So this took awhile. I'm getting a case of Writer's Block, so Not A Dream has been a struggle. So, for a change of pace, I decided this needed updating. Hopefully I'll update some other stuff (cough Not a Dream cough) soon, but I'm not sure how it'll go.**

 **Thank you all for your amazing feedback. Yes, Hogwarts would run for the hills if it could. Unfortunately it can't and has to prepare for 7 years of chaos... and then be blindsided when it has to endure yet another when Loki becomes a teacher... who thought that was a good idea?!**

 **Wait... I did, didn't I? Well, at least it'll be hilarious when we get there.**

 **So, you guys came to read a chapter in which I am a humble slave to non profit fanfiction. I should let you do that.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: In A Shocking Turn of Events, Someone Actually Trusts Loki**

Loki sighed, sitting up in his bed. His bedroom was dark and filled- _filled!-_ with books, with only a few toys. Apparently, little Remus loved bedtime stories.

He knew his parents were starting to get suspicious. Who could blame them? He had absolutely no idea how their son acted, and was just making it up as he went along. He was beginning to regret not getting more information before jumping in.

There was one thing he could do. If he wanted to know more about Remus, he'd have to ask the boy himself. The problem was _finding_ the boy's soul within him, and then trying to communicate with him before he scared him off.

He took a deep breath, looking inside himself. Trickster-magic and natural-magic flowed freely, his grace hidden to all but his own eyes. The mix was something beautiful, something that had never been done before. Loki was one-of-a-kind, especially now, with the addition of natural-magic. Soon, he'd probably end up being a mix of literally everything, if things kept going how they were.

It took Loki a while, but eventually he found the soul of little Remus. Said soul was a warm amber to Loki's perception, burrowing in on itself as the trickster-magic and grace swirled around him, the natural-magic forming something like a barrier to keep both from touching Remus.

Slowly, Loki reached forward and touched the barrier. Loki coaxed it to allow him entry, watching as it moved to encompass both him and Remus.

"Uh, hey, little guy…" Loki said softly.

Little Remus looked up, startled by his voice. His eyes grew wide.

"Are you an angel?"

Loki was taken aback by the question, involuntarily looking behind him, where his wings were spread out behind him. No one should be able to see them, least of all this kid. Loki hadn't told him he was an angel, and from the way Remus was looking at him he saw the wings.

How?

"Uh… yeah, I am, kiddo." Loki replied quietly, like the words were forbidden.

Amber eyes widened, little hands reaching out to touch glowing golden wings. Loki watched him apprehensively, but allowed the kid to touch his wings. After all, he _was_ kind of invading the kids body, even if it had saved his life.

Remus only touched the feathers for a moment before his hand retreated back, a look of awe on his face.

Slightly uncomfortable, Loki told him, "Well, I'm not exactly here for a social call. Do you know what happened?"

Remus thought carefully for a moment. Loki studied his expression, committing it to his memory so he could recreate it later.

"I was attacked." Remus replied carefully, only the slightest shake to his voice. One of his hands traced the lines of where one of his more severe wounds had been before Loki had healed him, "By a werewolf. A voice asked me if I would allow them to save me. I said yes. Was that you? Am I dead?"

Loki sighed, "Yeah, that was me. You didn't die, though you did come pretty close."

"So what's your name?" the boy asked, "I'm Remus."

He was about to answer that his name was Loki, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the boy's eyes, the absolute trust displayed there. Maybe it was the fact that he was only a little kid, one who would never be able to live out a normal life.

"Gabriel." he said, the name sounding foreign on his tongue. It had been so long since he'd dared speak it. Just saying the name stirred up something inside him, making him feel lighter.

"Nice to meet you." Remus replied, a little shyly. If the name registered as important, the boy didn't say.

"Well, kiddo, I have something important to talk to you about." Loki informed him, sitting down so that he didn't have to look down at the kid. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, before plowing ahead.

"When I saved you, I did something. It's- well, it's a little complicated, but basically I am a part of you now. Like, two people sharing one body kind of way. The reason I can do this is because you're special- your whole family is special. If you want me gone, that's okay. I'll leave, once you are done healing. I'm not too sure how this is going to work out, but I'm going to see if we can work something out to where I'm not always in control, or at least not totally in control. This is your life, after all, and I don't want to take over like that."

Remus listened with complete attention. Loki could tell he was thinking through what he said, and seemed to understand better than Loki had hoped from a little kid.

"But if we're going to do this, I'd rather no one else know about it. I'm not sure how they'd react, that and… well…" he smiled a conspiratorial kind of smile, "I'm kind of in a lot of trouble right now. I don't want them to know where I am. So it'll be our little secret that I'm here."

"Who are you in trouble with?" Remus asked, looking concerned.

Loki made a face, "I'll tell you when you are older. It's… complicated. Moving on! Would you follow me out of this little hideout you have in here?"

Remus took a quick look at his little sphere of natural-magic, before looking back at Loki. He nodded.

Loki smiled. No one had trusted him like this in _years._ For some strange reason, most seemed to regard him with large amounts of suspicion. Remus was different. He looked like he'd do anything Loki asked him without question, or at least much of one. It was a nice feeling.

The angel/ pagan god held out his hand, standing up with a muttered comment about his creaky old knees. Remus grabbed the offered hand, walking a little behind Loki as he led the boy gently out of his natural-magic shield.

When the shield released them, Loki heard Remus gasp. He glanced down at the young boy, who was watching the grace and magic float about them, reaching a hand out to catch a wisp of grace that had come to inspect him. When Remus touched it, the grace absorbed into his body. Remus beamed up at Loki, who smiled back and led the boy on.

"It's beautiful." Remus said, following him, "What is it."

"This is…" Loki trailed off for a moment, "Well, I guess it's us. It's magic, and grace."

"So we're _in_ us?" Remus asked, confused and slightly skeptical.

Loki shrugged, "Sort of. We're in your… well, our soul."

Poor Remus was mind blown.

* * *

 **Yeah, so I decided I needed to do something with actual Remus. He'll be involved, but he's also going to spend his life sharing a mind with Loki. So whatever voice of reason you hoped for will die a quick death. I imagine it'll get to the point that Remus and Loki won't really be separate people at all. Still considering what exactly to do with it though, so suggestions are always welcome at this home.**

 **And hugs. :) Bye-bye humans! Much love. Hope to see you soon.**


	4. 3: Learning to be Remus Lupin

**Would you look at that, in a shocking turn of events I'm not dead. Things happened, internet deserted me in my time of need, AP chem added onto advanced math classes mean please kill me, and then there was Nanowrimo... And then there was Nanowrimo.**

 **The only plus to all of this is I have a slightly better idea of what to do with the next few chapters, but I'm not sure when I'll update again since my schedule has been launched off a waterfall somewhere. Probably floating down the Anduin and into the Sea or something.**

 **Well, there's another plus. Nanowrimo had me working on a collaboration with my sister, Arlewena, and the product should start being available on this site and AO3 at some point in the near future, however I'm not sure how many of you will be interested since the fandoms involved aren't what you kiddos are here for.**

 **Anyway, so there's a chapter for you to read. Thanks for waiting!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Learning to be Remus Lupin**

 _Remember what I told you, sir._

 _Don't call me sir, it makes me feel old!_

 _Uh, Mr. Angel?_

 _Father, no. Just Gabriel is fine. Or Loki. Or The Purveyor of All Things Mayhem. Or, even better-_

 _The Pur- what now?_

 _Never mind_ _. Just Gabriel._

 _Okay, Gabriel. Before you go out there, remember what you've been practicing. Fewer jokes-_

 _Boring!_

 _Don't insult anyone or tease them much-_

 _Jeez, just taking all of the fun out of my day._

 _I'm sorry, s- Gabriel, but you told me to teach you how to be me. I think you've got everything, so we can go._

 _Alrighty, captain._

With that, Loki hopped out of the bed onto his two short legs. They were shorter than normal, which was a bit disorienting but nothing he couldn't much handle. He'd just have to make sure he didn't walk like he was uncomfortable with it. He opened the door, and took a step outside.

 _Wait!_ Remus exclaimed, _Get a book! I always carry around books, I nearly forgot to tell you._

 _You're such a bookworm._ Loki thought as he picked up one of the books strewn about the room. _You're going to ruin my reputation with this, I'll have you know._

 _I'm sorry?_

Loki rolled his eyes, adjusting his grip on the book he'd picked up. If this kid didn't like sweets Loki would start murdering people and quickly. That tended to happen when he was deprived of sugar.

As he hopped down the steps of the stairs leading to the living room, he asked Remus, _What is your opinion of sweets?_

 _I love sweets!_ Remus exclaimed, suddenly excited, _Especially chocolate._

 _Then we'll get along just fine, even if you are a nerd._ Loki commented, satisfied that his obsession for sweets would not be entirely out of character. _After all, what self-respecting kid in my line of vessels doesn't harbor a love for sweets and mayhem?_

 _Line of what now?_

Loki sighed, reaching the living room. _Ah, I'll explain later._

His mother was up in an instant, "Oh, Remus, good morning! Did you sleep well?"

"Yup!" Loki replied, popping the 'p'. Then he remembered he was supposed to be acting like Remus and said, "Uh, good morning, mum, dad."

His dad looked up from the book he was reading. Evidently that's where Remus had picked up the tendency to read.

"Breakfast is ready whenever you'd like it, dear," his mother said, steering him into the dining room, "I'll fix you a plate, do you want orange juice?"

 _Just nod. Nothing else!_

Loki complied, nodding and biting his tongue to stop himself from making a comment. _Alright, alright, kiddo. No need to shout._

He was quickly presented with breakfast and didn't hesitate to savor every bite. This food deal wasn't so bad, really. It was only a bit inconvenient, but the taste of it made up for that. Sure, what he was presented with wasn't super-sugary, but it was still okay. Eating just sugar wasn't good for you, which was honestly very stupid but there were the facts. While he might not mind it, he shouldn't abuse Remus's poor body, nor would the parents allow such a diet.

Once he was done eating, he sat down in the living room to begin to read the book he'd brought with him. He really wished he'd discovered how to put Remus in control, so he could let the kiddo read instead of just looking on. However, that idea was still just a work-in-progress, so he'd have to suffer through reading to keep suspicions down. Not that he _hated_ reading, but it could never hold his attention too long for the most part. Literature tended to repeat the same concepts and ideas, and it got incredibly boring after a while. The children's books available to him, while thankfully advanced for Remus's age, weren't satisfying reads.

"This afternoon we're taking you out." Remus's father remarked suddenly, bookmarking his page in his large paperback and setting it aside.

"Huh?" Loki said, startled at the sudden disturbance of the silence, "Oh, sweet. Where are we going?"

 _Was that good? Please tell me you're at least a little curious about things normally._ Gabriel thought, closing his own book. He had no need to bookmark it- he could easily remember his page.

 _No, no, you are doing fine,_ came Remus's reply. Loki breathed a sigh of relief. He had no interest in dealing with suspicion. He'd rather succeed in his trick by leaving none the wiser that he might be something other than what he was supposed to be.

Remus's father looked uncomfortable, but their mother answered, "Into the woods, sweetie."

"Why?" Loki asked, his own suspicion rising and causing him to tense up. He didn't like their tip-toeing around whatever issue it was.

"We're going to have a picnic, won't you like that?" his mother said, not looking at him. Instead she stared at the grain of the end table resting beside her chair. His eyes darted between the two adults, trying to figure out what was wrong. Inside him, he felt Remus quiver, as the boy seemed to be picking up on his suspicion that something was wrong.

Finally, his mother sighed, "It's the full moon, tonight, sweetie." _Oh._ That made a lot of sense. "We've prepared somewhere for you to stay for the next few nights, where it'll be safe. We'll bring you breakfast tomorrow morning, okay?"

Loki wasn't sure how to react. Remus had gone silent. Loki could feel the child's fear at being left alone, at the unknown that his new status as a werewolf brought.

Gabriel wanted to reassure the kid, but from what he knew of the transformation into werewolf, it wasn't pretty. He couldn't tell Remus it would all be okay, because Loki didn't want to lie to the poor little guy. He might stretch the truth, or bend it a little to suit his needs, but he didn't like lying to a kid. Especially not this kid, not when he trusted him so much.

Loki made his eyes go wide, focusing on the fear he felt radiating from Remus, and let his lip quiver a little as he said, "You're leaving me… alone? All night? But…"

"You don't have to worry." said his father, firmly, "Nothing will be able to hurt you. We'll be there when you're… you again."

"Okay." Loki replied, biting his lip and keeping his expression fearful, "Promise?"

"Of course." Remus's mother said, walking over to ruffle his hair.

As he was told, they did go on a picnic in the woods while they watched the sun sink towards the horizon. Gabriel didn't enjoy it as he should have. In truth, he was a bit afraid of the werewolf transformation. Not for him; he could handle pain. He was afraid of how it would affect Remus. The poor kid had been quiet since they'd learned it was the full moon.

Kids shouldn't have to worry about anything but begging desserts and toys out of their parents.

The little cottage he was brought to was nice. There wasn't much furniture, which was to be expected since he'd only destroy it when the transformation took over. There was a comfortable-looking couch, however. There weren't any windows, just one door that looked strong enough to take a good amount of force. Even if it couldn't, the place would be safe. Gabriel had felt the strength of the warding put on this place when he walked in.

Once the parents had left and the sunset began, he heard Remus whisper, _Gabriel? I'm scared. Do you think… will it hurt?_

Gabriel sighed heavily, _yeah, probably, kiddo. I'm sorry. But I'll be right here the entire time. I'm not going anywhere. You've just gotta be brave. Do you think you can manage it, kiddo?_

 _Okay._ Remus replied, sounding a little reassured. In the meantime, Loki settled himself on the couch. He wasn't sure exactly how this was going to go down, but he thought it might be best not to be standing when the moon's light took effect.

He could feel it as soon as it began. Remus's entire body _roared,_ the bones and tissues answering the call of the moon and beginning to move and shift. He could feel the magic trying to conquer his mind, to bring it under it's control. His grace instantly began to fight back, heightening the onslaught of agony. Gasping for air, he forced his grace to stop. The pain lessened, but it was still terrible. The body wasn't under his control, and his mind was slipping, slipping. His mind wasn't meant to be contained like this, and he couldn't see for the pain in his head. His ears were ringing. He might have vomited; he wasn't sure.

His skin pulled tight, his bones ground together. He could hear Remus screaming, crying out in fear. _Make it stop, make it stop, it hurts! Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop-!_

Gabriel grit his teeth turning to fangs and replied, _Calm down, don't fight it! I'm right here!_

As the magic forced his mind out of control, he delved inside. He found Remus, and wound his grace tightly around the boy in hopes that it would lessen the effect.

Only one thought was on his mind as he finished. _We're going to have to do this tomorrow morning, and every full moon for the rest of Remus's life, unless a cure is created._

 _Father damn it._

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 **The werewolf thing couldn't exactly keep with my lighthearted tone thus far, but thankfully next chapter will see us with more fun things.**

 **Thank you for reading, and I wish you all a wonderful day.**


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